Novel coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan: Beware of dengue (original) (raw)

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic originated in Wuhan, China has become a serious public health crisis for the developed and developing world. As of July 07, 2020, a total of 11,748,782 confirmed cases including 540,858 deaths have been reported across the globe. 1 The COVID-19 toll in Pakistan is expanding since its first detection on 26 February 2020, now reached at 234,509 laboratory confirmed cases including 4839 deaths as of July 07, 2020. 1 Importantly, Pakistan is endemic for dengue virus for the last 30 years. According to the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, the number of dengue cases spiked by almost 15 fold from 3204 cases in 2018 to 47,120 cases in 2019, however the actual number is presumed to be much higher than reported. 2 Likewise, in 2020, 416 confirmed dengue cases appeared much earlier than the post-monsoon peak season. 3 The unusual early appearance of dengue in Pakistan further calls for actions and early response to this outbreakprone disease known to played havoc in Pakistan accounting for 90,400 cases and 169 deaths between 2015 and 2019. Countries with fragile healthcare systems like Pakistan need to prioritize regular and consistent disease surveillance and prevention programs including a central epidemic control center utilizing the modern technological support to detect, track and manage infections early on. For many countries, the COVID-19 outbreak set the stage for self-evaluation of their healthcare systems. The peak of COVID-19 outbreak in Pakistan is forecasted to occur by July, 4 the appearance of dengue cases in May has further deteriorated the situation indicating an overwhelmed needs for surveillance and case management in terms of hospital capacity and vector control measures. An important factor for efficient disease management involves the understanding of clinical manifestations to differentiate between COVID-19 and dengue reported with overlapping clinical presentations in diseased individuals including fever, headache, muscular aches etc.